One of the biggest issues is that children here simply don’t access federal hunger programs. Maureen Berner, professor of Public Administration and Government at UNC-Chapel Hill, estimates that the Triangle leaves nearly $500,000 on the table each year in federal money for free and reduced meals. That money is available, and Mack Koonce, Triangle United Way president and CEO, wants to tap into the braininess of the Triangle to find good ways of using it.

“The Triangle is known for its intellectual capital,” he says. “This is a different kind of volunteerism. … We are actually short of ideas more than we are short of money.”

In the Triangle’s communities, nearly 100,000 children qualify for free and reduced meals. Some 20 percent of children in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties live in food-insecure homes, which means their families do not have a stable and predictable plan for feeding their household each and every day, according to Berner’s research.

“The (challenge) is about coming together and creating solutions that can have a lasting impact on our community,” said Koonce. “From teachers and students to farmers and social entrepreneurs; businesses and nonprofits, the spirit of innovation can change lives by developing, implementing, and scaling high-impact ideas to address childhood hunger.”

Under Koonce’s leadership, the United Way is going through a transition. It will still fund programs, as it always has, however will also take a more targeted approach toward helping support community organizations in a direct way, instead of simply funding as a third party. It has also narrowed its focus to three key areas: Education, health and financial stability. Hunger issues fit right in all three of those.

“Hunger is an example where the needle hasn’t moved in a long time, and has probably gotten worse,” Koonce said, and told a story about a teacher who knew some of her students would perform far better if they weren’t constantly hungry.

Furthermore, Koonce points out that many infants and babies go hungry as well. “Hunger doesn’t wait until you are six years old and in school,” he says.

Koonce says he actually hopes there will be so many good ideas that the United Way will have to expand the program and award more than one $50,000 grant.

The challenge is open to applicants in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties; the goal is to encourage broad participation in order to pioneer the most effective, innovative, long-term, and strategic solutions.